Machine for knitting elastic fabric



Oct. 4, 1932. o. H. WALTON I 1,380,304:

MACHINE FOR KNITTING ELASTIC FABRIC Filed Feb. 16, 1932 s Sheets-Sheet 1apziybgyf Q Oct. 4, 1932. o. H; WALTON i,8$,304

MACHINE' FOR KNITTING ELASTIC FABRIC Filed Feb. 16, 1932 ,6 sheets-sheet2 1771267722571 OZ/Ll'erfi Lill /Z1071; I b

Oct. 4, 193 2. O, WALTON 1,880,304

MACHINE FOR KNITTING ELASTIC FABRIC Filed Feb. 16, 1952 e Sheets-Sheet 3dz 50 I 7 F lIllllIII/[Il/IlIlIl/lIII lIlIlllIl/l/ IIII Oct. 4, 1932. o.H. WALTON 1,880,304

MACHINE. FOR KNITTING ELASTIC FABR IC Filed Feb. 16, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet4 [mveTz/tor" Obi/U67 f2. y

Oct. 4, 1932.

o. H. WALTON 1,880,304

MACHINE FOR KNITTING ELASTIC- FABRIC 6 Shets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 16. 1932Invert/torn 02701167 wa l/mm.

Oct. 4, 1932. o. H. WALTON MACHINE FOR KNITTING ELASTIC FABRIC FiledFeb. 16, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented a. 4, 1932 UNITED STATES omvnn11. Warren, or 'nmmu, mssacnusms ulcnnm roa xnmmo mm uusarc Applicationfiled Iebruary 18, 188. Serial ms. 588,264.

This invention relates to machines for knitting elastic fabric.

The object of the invention is to provide a knitting machine which willknit a piece of fabric in the usual well-known manner and at the sametime automatically knit therein a woof consisting of an elastic strandpreferably of rubber covered with thread or yarn, the elastic strandbeing locked to the knitted fabric by loops of the fabric extendingthrough the covering of the elastic strand, so that the elastic strandscannot be withdrawn and cannot work loose from the fabric.

The invention consists in a knitting ma- 16 chine embodying thecombination of elements set forth in the following specification andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the particular embodiment of my invention herein disclosed a circulardial machine is shown and described, but it is to be understood that theinvention is not restricted to a circular dial machine, but may be usedin' any kind of a knitting machine wherein the elastic strands extendingtransversely of the fabric are locked to the fabric by loops of theknitted fabric extending through the strands, preferably through thecovering of the strands. The invention therefore embodies in a machinefor knitting fabric a needle bed, knitting needles thereon, means toguide yarn or thread to the needles, and means to feed an elastic strandtransversely of the needles, together with means to cause the needles tocarry loops of said yarn or thread through said elastic strand.

In the following specification and in the claims the word yarn isemployed, but a strand of any yarn or thread may be considered asequivalents of each other in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation broken away and illustrating themechanism by which the needle cam ring is rotated, also illustrating theneedle dial upon which are slidably mountedthe dial needles by the dialneedle cams.

Fig. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the mechanism for feedingand for guiding the elastic strand to the needles.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a portion of the needle cylinder andneedles, illustrating in connection therewith the mechanism for feedingand guiding the elastic strand to the cylinder needles.

I Fig. 4 is a detail plan of a portion of the needle cylinder, a guidebeing shown in section for guiding the elastic strand.

Fig. 5 is a plan view partly in section and broken away of the means forguiding the o0 elastic strand beneath the points of the hooks of theneedles of the primary cylinder.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation illustrating a portion of the needlecylinder with needles thereon, a portion of the dial cam plate or todisc, and means for guiding the elastic strand.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken on line 7-7, Fig. 6, andillustrating a cylinder needle in its elevated osition just about topierce the covering of the elastic strand on its downward movement.

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation taken on line 8-8, Fig. 6, similar toFig. 7 and illustrating the relative position of the strand to theneedle upon a further downward movement of the needle from the positionillustrated in Fig. "1', that is, with the strand on top of the hook ofthe needle and the pierced por tion of the covering of the strand withinthe hook. I

Fig. 9 is another sectional elevation taken on line 99, Fig. 6,illustrating the cylinder needle in its depressed position ust below theupper edge of the needle cylinder, with the pierced portion of thecovering of the elastic strand and with the loop of the preceding courseof loops of the fabric held within the hook of the needle and with thedial needle retracted and holding its loop of the preceding course ofthe-knitted fabric.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 illustrating the cylinder needle in its elevatedposition taking a new loop of thread and the dial needle in its forwardposition with the pierced portion of the covthrough said pierced portionof the covering Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation similar to yarn of theknitted fabric extending through and the old loop and pierced portioncast off.

Fig. 11 is another sectional elevation similar to Figs. 7 to 10inclusive illustrating the cylinder needle lowered, the dial needleretracted, each holding its new loop, and the elastic strand which hasbeen pierced enclosed by the loops of the fabric which have just beenknitted.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken on line 12.12 andviewed in the direction of the arrow a, Fig. 2..

Fig. 13 is a plan view partly in section illustrating the means forrotating the dial cam plate, also illustrating the mechanism for feedingand guiding the strand to the needles and the guide for guiding thethread to the needles.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged detail view illustrating the elastic strand.

Fig. 15 is an enlarged sectional elevation through the elastic strandand illustrating the g the covering of said strand.

Fig. 16 is a detail front elevation of aportion of an elastic strandwith a loop of the fabric projecting through the covering thereof.

Fig. 17 is a sectional plan illustrating a modified form of' strandguide.

Fig. 18 is a sectionalelevation taken on line 1818, Fig. 17,illustrating the operation of the modified form of strand guide.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of thedrawings.

In the drawings, 20 is the frame of the machine, in which is mounted adriving shaft 21, said shaft being driven by a pulley 22 which may beconnected thereto by a clutch 23, the pulley 22 being driven by a belt24 and, the shaft 21 having a bevelled gear 25 fast to its inner endwhich meshes into an annular gear 26 rotatably mounted on the frame 20and having a cam ring 27 for the cylinder needles, fast thereto. Aneedle cylinder 28 is mounted upon and fast to the frame 20 and isprovided with vertical latch needles 29 to which a reciprocatory motionis imparted by cams 30 on the inner face of the cam ring 27. It willthus be seen that the needle cylinder in this type of machine isstationary, while the cam ringrotates about it imparting a reciprocatorymotion to the needles 29.

In this embodiment of my invention I utilize in combination with thestationary needle cylinder a needle dial 31 upon which are slidablymounted dial needles 32, said needles being moved toward and away fromthe axial center of the dial 31 by dial cams 33 fast to a dial cam plate34 which is fast to a vertical shaft 35. The lower end of the shaft 35projects downwardly through the dial plate 31 and hasa collar 36 fastthereto. The upper end of said shaft 35 is fastened to a cross head 37,see Fig. 13, which in turn is fastened by posts 38 to the rotary camring 27, thus a rotary motion is imparted by the cam ring 27 through theposts 38 and cross head 37 to the vertical shaft 35 and to the dial camplate 34 and the cams 33 mounted thereon. The dial plate 31 is preventedfrom rotating by wings 39 thereon which engage ears 40 on the stationaryneedle cylinder 28.

The thread or yarn 41 for the knitted fabric is fed to the cylinderneedles 29 throu h a tnread guide 42 which is fastened to t e dial camplate 34 and is fed from a bobbin carried by the shaft 35 in a mannerwell known to those skilled in the art but not shown in the drawings.

The elastic strand 43, which is knitted into the fabric, consists of acore of rubber 44, see Fig. 14, around. which is wrapped a coveringconsisting of yarns 45 and 46. The yarn 45 is wound around the rubbercore 44 in one direction and the yarn 46 is wound around the outside ofthe yarn 45 in the opposite direction. The elastic strand is fed from abobbin or spool carried by the shaft 35 and passes from the said spoolthrough a guide eye 47 and between a pair of feed rolls 48 and 49 whichconstitute not only feed rolls but tension rolls, that is, they feed theelastic strand from the spool and hold it under proper tension as itpasses from the feed rolls to the needles in a manner hereinafterdescribed.

The feed rolls 48 and 49 are geared together by gears 50 and 51, seeFigs. 3 and 12. The

feed roll 48 and gear 50 are fastened together or integral with eachother and are rotatably mounted upon a shaft 52 which is supported atits opposite ends in a slide frame 53 slidably mounted in ways 54provided in a bracket 55. The bracket 55 has uprights 56 thereon inwhich the ways 54 are formed and said bracket is fastened by screws 57to the dial cam plate 34. The feed roll 49 and gear 51 are fastenedtogether or integral with each other and are mounted upon a shaft 58which is supported in the uprights 56 of the bracket 55. The roll 48 ispressed toward the roll 49 to grip the strand 43 therebetween with ayielding pressure by means of a spring 59 and screw 60, the screw 60having screwth'readed engagement with a cross bar 61 forming a part ofthe bracket 56, the lower end of the screw bearing against the spring 59and the lower end of the spring 59 bearing against a cross bar 62 on thesliding and to the gear 51 by a bevel gear 63 fastened to the roll 49 bya pin 64 which also projects through the shaft 58. The bevel gear 63meshes into another bevel gear 65 which is fastened to a vertical shaft66 rotatably mounted in the bracket 55, and to the lower end of theshaft 66 is fastened a gear 67 which meshes into another gear 68rotatably mounted upon a stud'69 which is fastened to the needle camring 27. The gear 68 meshes into the cylinder needles 29 and as theneedle cam rin 27 rotates about these needles the gear 68 is caused bythem to rotate, thus rotating the gear 67, the bevel gears and 63, theroll 49 and gear 51 and the roll 48 and gear 50.

From the feed rolls 48 and 49 the elastic strand 43 passes downwardlythrough a guide bracket which is fastened by, a screw 71 to a bracket 72which is fastened to the dial cam plate 34. The strand 43 passes fromthe guide plate 70, see Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 6, between a presser roll 73and a rotary strand support roll 74. The presser roll 73 is rotatablymounted upon a vertical pin 75, see Figs. 2 and 3, and the pin 7 5projects upwardly from the presser roll 73 and is pivotally mounted upona horizontal pin 76 which projects into an arm 77 on the bracket 72 andis fastened thereto by the screw 71.

A spring 78 is connected at one end to the pin and at the other end tothe bracket 72, thus acting to hold the presser roll which is providedwith an annular groove at 79 against the strand and to press the strandagainst the strand supporting roll 74. The strand supporting roll 74 hasvertical grooves 80 in its periphery which receive the upper ends of thecylinder needles 29 when they are in their advanced position asparticularly shown in Fig. 7. The strand supporting roll 74 is fast to apin 74 which is rotatably mounted in a ball bearing member 72 fast tothe bracket 72, see Fig. 2.

As the strand 43 passes beyond or to the left, Figs. 2 and-3, of therolls 73 and 74, it is guided inwardly with relation to the needlecylinder by a guide plate 81 which is fastened by a screw 82 to therotary dial cam plate 34. This guide plate has an inclined portion 83which guides the elastic strand from the position illustrated in Fig. 8over the top. and to the rear of the needle which has pierced it asillustrated in Fig. 9.

The general operation of the mechanism hereinbefore specifically and tosome extent in general described is as follows :The knitting of thefabric is performed in the usual well-known manner of dial rib knittingmachines.

Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive illustrate in detail the manner in which thecovering of the strand is pierced by the cylinder needles and the threadof the fabric loops carried down through the pierced portion of thecovering and the strand enclosed within the loops of the knitted fabric.Referring to these drawings, Fig. 7 illustrates the cylinder needle inits advanced position with the point 84 of the hook 85 ust in positionand ready upon the downward movement of the cylinder needle to piercethe covering of the strand 43. The strand is positioned laterallythereof in' this exact position by the strand supporting roll 74 and bythe presser roll 73, that is, the strand is held by the presser roll 73against the outer edges of the teeth 86 in said supporting roll 74 whilethe needle 29 projects upwardly through one of the grooves 80 betweenthe teeth 86. Thus the strand is exactly positioned with the point 84 ofthe hook of the needle in alignment with the inner side of the coveringof the strand. Referring to Fig. 7 it will be seen that the dial needle32 is in its retracted position and the cylinder needle 29 is in itsadvanced position, it being understood that the needles in thisembodiment of my invention are latch needles. The loops of the lastcourse knitted, namely, 87 and 88, are on the cylinder and dial needlesrespectively and the latch 89 of the needle 29 is still within the loop87.

The next position of the needles during this part of the knittingoperation is in Fig. 8, shown in frontelevation on the line 8-8, Fig. 6.The cylinder needle 29 is shown as having pierced a portion 90 of thecovering of the strand 43 and the strand is positioned above the hook ofthe needle. The loops 87 and 88 are still held by the needles 29 and 32respectively.

The next step in this knitting operation is illustrated in Fig. 9 and infront elevation in Fig. 6 along the line 99. At this time the inclinedportion 83 of the guide 81 has engaged the strand 43 and pushed it overthe top of the needle and over the upper edge of the'needle cylinder 28.The pierced portion 90 of the covering of the strand and the loop 87 arenow held within the hook of the needle 29 while the loop 88 is stillheld by the dial needle 32.

Tn Fig. 10 the needle 29 is shown as having moved upwardly again and anew thread 91 has been fed thereto and the dial needle 32 is movedforwardly. The loop 87 and the pierced portion 90 of the covering of thestrand are still held upon the shank of the needle 29 and have passedbelow the lower edge of the latch of said needle ready to be cast offupon the next downward movement of the needle 29.

In Fig. 11 the needle 29 is moved downwardly carrying the new loop Ofthread 91 through the pierced portion 90 of the strand and through theloop 87, and the dial needle 32 has received its new loop 92 which hasbeen fed to it by the primary needle 29 in its descent. Thus it will beseen that the loop 91 has been drawn through the pierced portion 90 ofthe covering of the strand and also through the loop 87 of the previouscourse, while the dial needle has carried its new loop 92 through theloop 88 of the previous course, and thus the strand 43 is enclosedwithin the loops of the fabric and locked thereto by the loop 91 of theprimary needle.

In Fig. 15 the strand is shown very much i l enlarged illustrating therubber core 44, the yarn coverings and 46 and a loop of thread 41extending therethrough, and in Fig. 16 an enlarged front elevation isshown illustrating the strand 43 with a loop 93 of the thread 41extending through the pierced portion 90 of said strand.

Referring to Figs. 17 and 18, the presser roll 73 and strand supportingroll 7 4 are the same in operation as hereinbefore described. The strand43, however, instead of passing directly from the presser roll 73 andstrand supporting roll 74 to the guide plate 81 passes along theperiphery at the rear of a strand guide roll 92 which is provided withan annular groove 93 in its periphery and is p ositioned adjacent thetops of the cylinder needles 29 and projects rearwardly beyond saidneedles so that the strand 43 is carried ver the tops of the needles 29and to the rear thereof as illustrated in Fig. 18. The strand 43 passesfrom the guide roll 92 along the rear face of a guide plate 94 which issimilar to the guide plate 81'and is fastened to the dial cam plate. Theroll 92 is rotatably mounted upon a vertical stud 95 which is fastenedto a bracket 96 which in turn is fastened to the cylinder cam ring 27.

Fig. 18 shows the needles and the knitting instrumentalities in the samerelative positions as Fig. 9, except that the guide roll 92 isillustrated as pushing the strand backwardly over the tops of theneedles instead of the guide plate 81 and the knitting operation is thesame in both cases except as to the guiding of the strand by a rotaryroll instead of by a stationary plate.

\Vhile the specification and claims recite an elastic strand, it isevident that Without departing from the spirit of this invention anon-eles'tic strand may be used in lieu of an elastic strand.

I claim:

1. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle bed, knitting needles thereon, means to guide yarn to saidneedles, means to feed an elastic strand transversely of said needles,and means to cause said needles to carry loops of said yarn through saidelastic strand.

2. 'A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle bed, knitting needles thereon, means to guide yarn to saidneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereontransversely of said needles, and means to cause said needles to carryloops of yarn through said covering.

3. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle bed, knitting needles thereon, means to guide yarn tosaidneedles, means to feed an elastic strand comprising a core of rubberand a covering of yarn transversely of said needles, and means to causesaid needles to carry loops of yarn through said covering.

4. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle bed, knitting needles slidably mounted thereon, means to guideyarn to said needles, means to feed an elastic strand with a coveringthereon transversely of the needles, and means cooperating with theneedles to cause loops of said yarn to be passed through the covering,whereby the elastic strand may be locked to the fabric knitted by theknitting needles.

5. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereontransversely of the needles, and means co-operating with the needles tocause loops of said yarn to be passed through the covering, whereby theelastic strand may be locked to the fabric knitted by the knittingneedles.

6. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath the points of the hooks thereof when in their advancedposition, whereby said covering may be pierced by the hooks on thereturn movement of the needles, and means to guide said strand over thetop and to the rear of said hooks while the pierced portion of saidcovering and the knitted loops of the last course of fabric are withinsaid hooks.

7. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath the points of the hooks thereof when in their advancedposition, whereby said covering may be pierced by the hooks on thereturn movement of the needles, and means to guide said strand over thetop and to the rear of said hooks while the pierced portion of saidcovering and the knitted loops of the last course of fabric are withinsaid hooks and whereby, upon a subsequent reciprocatory motion of theneedles, loops of another course may be carried through said piercedportion of the covering and the knitted loops of the last course and theelastic strand thereby locked to the knitted fabric.

8. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath and in alignment with the hooks thereof when in theiradvanced position, means to position the elastic strand laterallythereof with a covering on one side thereof in alignment with the pointsof said hooks, whereby said covering may be pierced by said hooks on thereturn movement of the needles, and means to guide said strand over thetop and to the rear of said hooks while the pierced portion of saidcovering and the knitted loops of the last course of fabric are withinsaid hooks.

9. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath the points of the hooks thereof when in their advancedposition and comprising a support with grooves therein to receive theupper ends of said needles, and a presser roll adapted to press thestrand against said support whereby said covering may be pierced by thehooks on the return movement of the needles, and means to guide saidstrand over the .top and to the rear of said hooks while the piercedportion of said covering and the knitted loops of the last course offabric are withinsaid hooks.

10.. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath the points of the hooks thereof when in their advancedposition and comprising a rotary support with vertical grooves in itsperiphery to receive the upper ends of said needles, and a presser rolladapted to press the strand against said support, whereby said coveringmay be pierced by the hooks on the return movement of the needles, andmeans to guide said strand over the top and to the rear .of said hookswhile the pierced portion of said covering and the knitted loops of thelast course of fabric are within said hooks.

11. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder,-

knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart a reoiprocatory motionto the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to the needles, means tofeed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to said needles beneaththe points of the hooks thereof when in their. advanced position andcomprising a rotary support with vertical grooves in its periphery toreceive the upper ends of said needles, and a pivotally mountedresserroll and spring adapted to press the strand against said support with ayielding pressure, whereby said covering may be pierced by the hooks onthe return movement of the needles, and means needlesslidably mountedthereon, means to guide yarn to said-needles, a pair of feed rollsadapted to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon transverselyof said needles, and means co-operating with the needles to cause loopsof said yarn to-be passed through the covering, whereby the elasticstrand may I be locked to the fabric knitted by the knitting needles.

13. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle bed, knitting needles slidably mounted thereon, means to guideyarn to said needles, a pair of feed rolls adapted to feed an elasticstrand with a covering thereon transversely of said needles, a gearmeshing said needles, and gearing con necting said gear to said feedrolls, and means co-operating with the needles to cause loops of saidyarn to be passed through the covering, whereby the elastic strand maybe locked to the fabric knitted by the knitting needles.

14. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle bed, knitting needles slidablymounted thereon, means to guideyarn to said needles, a pair of feed rolls adapted to feed an elasticstrand with a covering thereon transversely of said needles, means toadjust the pressure of said feed rolls on said elastic strand, and meansco-operating with the needles to cause loops of said yarn to be passedthrough the covering whereby the elastic strand may be locked to thefabric knitted by the knitting needles.

15. A machine for knitting elastic ribbed fabric having, in combination,a primary and secondary needle bed, knitting needles slidably mounted oneach of said beds, means to impart a reciprocatory motion to saidneedles, means to guide yarn to the primary needles, -means to feed anelastic strand with a covering thereon transversely of said primarneedles, and means co-operating with the primary needles to cause loopsof said yarn to be passed through said covering, whereby said elasticstrand may be locked to the fabric knitted by said knitting needles.

16. A machine for knitting ribbed elastic fabric having, in combination,a primary needle bed, a secondary needle bed, knitting needles on eachof said beds, means to guide yarn to the primary needles, means to feedan elastic strand transversely of said primary needles, and means tocause said primary needles to carry loops of said yarn through saidelastic strand.

17. A machine for knitting ribbed elastic fabric having, in combination,a primary. needle bed, a secondary needle bed, knitting needles on eachof said needle beds, means to Elli , mary needles, means to feed anelastic strand comprising a core of rubber and a covering of yarnthereon transversely of said primary needles, and means to cause said.primary needles to carry loops of yarn through said covering.

19. A machine for knitting ribbed elastic fabric having, in combination,a primary.

cylindrical needle bed, a secondary dial needle bed, knitting needlesslidably mounted on' each of said needle beds, means to guide yarn tothe primary needles, means to feed an elastic strand and a coveringthereon transversely of said primary needles, and means co-operatingwith the primary needles to cause loops of said yarn to be passedthrough said covering, whereby said elastic strand may be locked to thefabric knitted by said knitting needles.

20. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath the points of the hooks thereof when in their advancedposition, whereby said covering may be pierced by the hooks on thereturn movement of the needles, and a rotary guide roll positionedadjacent the tops of said needles and adapted to guide said strand overthe tops and to the rear of said hooks while the pierced portion of saidcovering and the knitted loops of the last course of said fabric arewithin said hooks.

21. A machine for knitting elastic fabric having, in combination, aneedle cylinder, knitting needles mounted thereon, means to impart areciprocatory motion to the knitting needles, means to guide yarn to theneedles, means to feed an elastic strand with a covering thereon to saidneedles beneath the points of the hooks thereof when in their advancedposition, whereby said covering may be pierced by the-hooks on thereturn movement of the needles, and a rotary guide roll positionedadjacent the tops of said needles and adapted to guide said strand overthe tops and to the rear of said hooks while the pierced portion of saidcovering and the knitted loops of the last course of said fabric arewithin said hooks and whereby, upon a subsequent reciprocatory motion ofsaid needles, loops of another course may be carried through means tothe pierced portion of said covering and the knitted loops of the lastcourse and the elastic strand thereby locked to the knitted fabric. Intestlmony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

OLIVER H. WALTON.

